5th Sunday of Easter (Cycle A, Year I)
Community Word:
The Holy Spirit empowers us to do the works of Jesus.
Theme:
We are empowered by the Holy Spirit when we boldly do the works of Jesus.
Promise:
“… Whoever believes in him shall not be put to shame.” (1Pt 2:6b)
Reflection:
Our Almighty God gives us every opportunity to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the indwelling Holy Spirit is to control, guide, teach and strengthen the believer to impart the love of God to and through him, and to give him the assurance of salvation. Jesus reveals the role the Spirit of Truth in us: “He lives with you and will be in you.” (Jn 14:17). He also promises that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us (Acts 1:8). Likewise, the theme of the 5th Sunday of Easter reminds us that we are empowered by the Holy Spirit when we boldly do the works of Jesus.
Easter Sunday reminds us that the fruits of redemption cannot be ours if we just wait for them to fall into our laps. We must make a decision to accept Jesus Christ and receive Him as our Savior and Lord. Our hearts and lives must be temples of the Holy Spirit and allow His power to fill us and permeate our entire being. The cardinal virtues of faith, hope and love and the gifts of the Holy Spirit of piety, fear of the Lord, knowledge, understanding, fortitude, counsel and wisdom are absolutely indispensable to us. The infused virtues dispose and prepare us for action. They motivate us to act; without the gifts of supernatural assistance we will not have the capability ‘act to an actual act.’ The gifts of the Holy Spirit are like the sail that enables the boat (us) to receive the divine impulses and move it to the open sea and eventually to reach its port of destination.
Truly, the Holy Spirit has never ceased ‘enflaming the hearts of the faithful and enkindling in them the fire of His love.’ This is clearly seen in our community as a Christian religious revival, far-reaching in scope globally and focused on spiritual rebirth through the power of the Holy Spirit as the indispensable instrument in leading people to Christ and to their acceptance of our Risen Lord and Savior.
It is our prayer that the hearts of our community members are always set on fire, enflamed and enkindled so that they may not rest until they have done everything to advance God’s glory. It is also our prayer that there will be boldness in them – an attitude of strong confidence in God; that these are said and done without hesitation and fear because they have received the anointing and empowerment do the works of the Ministry that God has entrusted them thru the community. “Lord, grant to your servants with all boldness that they may speak your word and do your works,” (Acts 4: 29 – 30). In 1 Peter 2: 9, we are also re-affirmed as the chosen people of God and worthy followers of Christ: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”
As we continue the works of Jesus, we are assured that we will gain our reward. He says to us:“You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am, you also may be,” (Jn 14: 1 – 4). Doing the works of Jesus is recognizing Him as the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the way to the Father: “It is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart, who has made him known,” (Jn 1:18). He is the Truth:“If you obey my teachings, you are really my disciples; you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” (Jn 8:31-32). He is the Life: “the Son of Man must be lifted up … so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life,” (Jn 3:13,15).
Today, as Christians, we must be bold to take the challenge as “living stones” of our Community in heeding God’s call to holiness, especially because we live in a world of unparalleled materialism and individualism, of pervasive and perverse desire for power and wealth, of dominating and driving force of self-aggrandizement. Very evident today is a rat race for economic advantage and security, hence a resurgent infusion of “the power from on high” (Lk 24:49) is ever more necessary and indispensable.
In the midst of these hostile influences, it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit can we live an authentic Christian life. But God’s promise is sure: “…whoever believes in Him shall not be put to shame,” (1 Pt 2:6b). Our present renewal and revival movement, therefore, is God’s clear answer to the felt needs of our times.
Prayer:
Lord God, our source of life and hope, thank You for Your presence. Forgive me for all my transgressions because You only deserve my full love and complete obedience. O Loving Jesus, cleanse my heart of all worldly impurities. Fill it with Your love and seal it with Your most Precious Blood that You shed on the cross. As You come and dwell in me, may You find me not a thoroughfare or a bag with holes, but a dwelling intact and whole, founded on true faith, erected in the certainty of hope and completed in the zeal of charity. O Holy Spirit, anoint, transform and empower me into a new creation that I may be able to do the works of Jesus boldly. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
1. Do I allow the Holy Spirit to have full control of my life and make me the kind of person He wants me to be?
2. What efforts do I exert to allow the Holy Spirit to transform me into a new creation and enable me to spread the good news of salvation to others, to teach them to obey God’s commandments, and to do the works of Jesus in building God’s kingdom?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
May 14, 2017 (Sun) – Acts 6:1-7/Ps 33:1, 2, 4, 5, 18, 19/1Pt 2:4-9/Jn 14:1-12
May 15, 2017(Mon) – Acts 14:5-18/Ps 115:1-4, 15, 16/Jn 14:21-26
May 16, 2017(Tues)- Acts 14:19-28/Ps 145:10-13, 21/Jn 14:27-31
May 17, 2017(Wed) – Acts 15:1-6/Ps 122:1-5/Jn 15:1-8
May 18, 2017 (Thur)-Acts15:7-21/Ps 96:1-3,10/Jn 15:9-11
May 19, 2017 (Fri)- Acts 15:22-31/Ps 57:8-10, 12/Jn 15:12-17
May 20, 2017 (Sat) -Acts 16:1-10/Ps 100:1-3, 5/Jn 15:18-21
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
